Friday is the final day of Standing Committee hearings on Bill 148, the so-called Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act.

While the Ontario Chamber of Commerce will deputize as part of that hearing process, many voices from the business community have been denied the same opportunity.

Throughout Ontario, employer and industry groups have wrung their hands at not only the pace of change in the legislation, but also the pace at which the legislation itself has made its way through Queen’s Park.

All this without anything in the way of the type of economic analysis that public policy deserves.

That’s why the Ontario Chamber of Commerce has convened town halls in dozens of communities across Ontario over the course of the summer: to give voice to those employers who are increasingly wondering what they are working for, as they face new, additional costs from these legislative changes.

From Ajax to Grafton, Owen Sound to Kingston this week alone, I have heard stories from business owners that I can only characterize as heartbreaking.

A dramatic increase in minimum wage, expansion of sick leave and vacation, equal pay for equal work – the intent is good but the leap is immense. However, other provisions like removing secret ballot votes for the union certification process, hurting business flexibility with the new one-size-fits all scheduling provisions and no longer giving employers the recourse to request a doctor’s note are inappropriate.

Altogether, the change is profound. Faced with a lack of time to prepare, more must be done to consider how we can collectively support employers to more seamlessly transition into this new reality.

As it is, businesses are realizing that they will either have to decrease services or increase prices – if they are lucky enough to stay afloat.

We have heard from restaurant owners who are two years away from retirement and were banking on the sale of their business so they can in fact retire. Faced with the new reality where their profit margin will soon be a fraction of what it had previously been, these folks are now worried that they wont be able to sell their restaurant, and wont be able to retire anytime soon.

Charities are telling us that in an environment where profits for business are going through the floor, not only are they going to have to pay their employees more, they’re also worried corporate giving will decrease as profit margins evaporate.

This government has committed to expand daycare access, improving seniors care and expand retirement security but these changes will increase costs for these Ontario families.

It has also committed to supporting Ontario youth but we now know that the Premier’s own advice in 2014 was that for every 10 per cent you raise the minimum wage, youth employment decreases by 6 per cent.

The Government maintains that it is advancing “fairness” through Bill 148, but limiting the employer community as part of the consultation process represents the opposite.

If Bill 148 is to proceed, we know from the community of voices that have been denied as part of the Standing Committee process that there is no other way than to increase cost for consumers and decrease services.

The notion that raising the minimum wage will give people more money, which they will spend, and business will profit, is woefully incorrect. Faced with these new expenses, the cost of everyday goods and services are set to rise dramatically. The most vulnerable in such an environment are those with fixed incomes, like seniors, whose quality of life will suffer.

Voices can be denied, but when push comes to shove, these employers are the folks that keep our communities afloat. If we abandon them now, it is us that lack compassion, and it is all of us that will face the consequences.

— Karl Baldauf is the vice-president of Policy and Government Relations at the Ontario Chamber of Commerce